Can you explain how paying software engineers higher salaries means other people need to live "perilous lives". You could just lower your EBIDTA a bit. Software engineers in the US aren't rich because of janitors being underpaid or something.
It is because if all the computer programmers went away the world would limp on. If all the janitors went away we would be swimming in shit.
Supply and demand.
Except that should you need surgery, you'd care who the surgeon would be, but not who would be handling the bags of medical waste.